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3rd June 2005 Archive

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  • Intel: We're all office warriors now

    Claims victory after victory for new designs

    Intel expects almost 40 per cent of its business will come from notebooks in the next two years, as OEMs seek to pacify a new class of user - the "office warrior". The chip generalissimo expects the planned Napa edition of Intel's Centrino chip will further fuel growth, with Napa currently outpacing its earlier Sonoma cousin in …

    PCs 3 Jun 2005, 08:49

  • Microsoft adopts XML for Office formats

    Openness and interoperability promised

    Microsoft has crept closer to interoperability between Office documents and those from competing productivity suites by way of XML. The company will adopt "industry standard" XML as the file format for popular applications like Word in the next major release of Office, codenamed Office 12 and expected in 2006. The …

    Applications 3 Jun 2005, 09:07

  • BOFH: Blocking the chutney ferret

    Episode 18 Advanced Bayesian filtering

    There's a bit of a flap on! I know because the Boss, the new Head of IT and the CEO have been speaking earnestly behind closed doors for some time... No sooner have I alerted the PFY to the situation than the phone rings. "Dreamytime Escorts!" I answer. "Sorr.. I... What?" "Systems and Networks." "Oh.. I.... Could you come …

    BOFH 3 Jun 2005, 09:51

  • Black is white in Longhorn compatibility land

    .NET Framework shenanigans

    Microsoft has visited the Bizzaro World of application compatibility to explain which software will break once Longhorn's .NET Framework 2.0 is unleashed on Windows. And the answer shouldn't be too surprising: applications written for the new stuff, in this case .NET Framework 2.0, are unlikely to run on the older stuff - that …

    Software 3 Jun 2005, 10:38

  • Dell red-faced over salesman's Lenovo jibes

    Cultural re-education for Austin's finest

    Horrified Dell executives scrambled this week to undo a public relations nightmare that erupted after one of its salesmen equated buying IBM/Lenovo PCs with support for China's communist government. A Chinese paper published emails from a US Dell salesman identified only as "Chris" which contained unusual tactics meant to sway …

    PCs 3 Jun 2005, 11:02

  • Saucy sites to get .xxx TLD

    Phwoooooaaarr!

    Sex sites are to get their own .xxx domain creating a "virtual" red light district on the wibbly wobbly web. Those behind the new top level domain (TLD) claim it will create a "clearly identifiable area of the internet that will empower families and help protect children and others from unwanted or inappropriate content". …

    Financial News 3 Jun 2005, 11:05

  • 'Nazi nuke' sketch unearthed

    Proof of Hitler's nuclear capability?

    A German historian who controversially claims that the Nazis tested a nuclear device in 1945 has now unearthed a sketch of a "Nazi nuke", as the BBC puts it. Rainer Karlsch's book Hitlers Bombe (Hitler's Bomb) rather sensationally suggests that German scientists detonated several nuclear bombs, the last in Thuringia on 3 March …

    Science 3 Jun 2005, 11:10

  • Trojan poses as Osama capture pics

    More viral dirty tricks

    Spam emails that try to dupe Windows users into infection by offering information about the supposed capture of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden were sent to an estimated one million surfers yesterday. The bogus emails attempt to seed infection of a new downloader Trojan, Small-AXR, contained in a pics.scr file within a zip …

    Security 3 Jun 2005, 11:17

  • Power lines linked to childhood leukaemia

    Or is it just wonky stats?

    Children living close to overhead power lines might be at an increased risk of developing leukaemia, according to scientists at Oxford University. The researchers stress that they do not have a causal mechanism - there is no known biological reason for the finding - and so the results may be a statistical fluke. The study …

    Science 3 Jun 2005, 11:19

  • Russia rattles sabre over space weapons

    Will take 'adequate retaliatory measures'

    Russia has warned that it will take "adequate retaliatory measures" against any deployment of space-based weapons. Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov used a trip to the Baikonur facility in Kazakhstan - celebrating its 50th birthday - to indulge in a bit of sabre rattling against Moscow's old adversary the US. "We are categorically …

    Science 3 Jun 2005, 11:21

  • Hack can upgrade XP Home to XP Pro Lite

    Two byte freebie

    German computer magazine C'T claims that by changing only 2 bytes from the file setupreg.hiv in Windows's XP Home kit, users can get access to certain functions only avalaible in Windows XP Professional, such as Remote Desktop, User management and enhanced security features. C'T writes in its latest print issue (in German only …

    Operating Systems 3 Jun 2005, 12:34

  • Sharp unshackles 65-inch LCD beast

    Big TV and a price tag to match

    Sharp today announced that it would in August roll out the world's biggest LCD TV* - a whopping 65 inches for an equally whopping $15,500 (roughly £8,500). The beast will intially be available in Japan, and overseas by the end of the year, Reuters reports. The press conference for the launch was reportedly packed to the …

    Bootnotes 3 Jun 2005, 12:37

  • Virgin trials mobile TV

    It's gonna be big - unlike the screens

    Virgin Mobile is looking to beam TV programmes direct to handsets as part of a trial with BT Wholesale. Content from Sky Sports News, Sky News and new music channel Blaze - including more than 50 digital radio channels - will be beamed to the handsets of 1,000 triallists taking part in the London-based four-month trial kicking …

    Mobile 3 Jun 2005, 12:40

  • Vive la France! cry Reg readers

    Stern response Otto gets a slapping

    Well, Otto has once again handed off responsibility for dealing with his letters, so it falls to the rest of us to give you, our beloved readers, a chance to respond to his fortnightly rant. It will not have escaped you notice that having failed to provoke the feline population of America to take up arms, and clearly in need of …

    Letters 3 Jun 2005, 12:56

  • Sun exits blade server market . . . for now

    Out of orbit

    If you're looking to buy a blade server in the near future, then Sun Microsystems won't be your supplier of choice. Sun has pulled its entire line of Sparc-, Xeon- and Athlon-based blades and its Sun Fire B1600 Blade chassis. The company last year notified customers of its plan to end-of-life this kit and then went ahead and …

    Servers 3 Jun 2005, 13:18

  • EU experts scrap over GM maize

    Deadlock in approval vote

    EU food safety experts today failed to agree on whether or not to authorise a GM maize for food use. A European Commission official told Reuters that this was the 13th consecutive failure to agree over biotech products. The offending maize - called 1507 and resistant to glufosinate-ammonium herbicide and some insects - is …

    Science 3 Jun 2005, 13:25

  • Hackers plot to create massive botnet

    It's raining malware

    Computer Associates has warned of a co-ordinated malware attack (CMA) described as among the most sophisticated yet unleashed on the net. The attack involves three different Trojans – Glieder, Fantibag and Mitglieder – in a co-ordinated assault designed to establish a huge botnet under the control of hackers. CA reckons that …

    Security 3 Jun 2005, 13:49

  • VoIP confuses punters

    Huh?

    Punters are confused by VoIP even though more and more know about the benefits of internet telephony, according to research from Ipsos-Insight. Six in ten US net users know about VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) - up from four in ten a year ago - and that they can use their use their regular phone for internet telephony, for …

    VoIP 3 Jun 2005, 14:00

  • Phoenix to rise on 2007 Mars mission

    Checking for life, etc

    The next US mission to Mars was given the go-ahead by NASA yesterday, clearing the way for teams to begin preparing for the launch of the Phoenix mission in August 2007. The lander is designed to look for possible indicators of life, past or present, and scan the landing site for water ice, and potential habitats. Phoenix, …

    Science 3 Jun 2005, 14:16

  • SMEs tempted with BT tech support

    Not outsourced, not offshored

    BT is offering small businesses "corporate grade" IT support for around 50p a day. The service has been under trial since last November with the full launch of "IT Support Manager from BT" delayed until now to ensure that the system was up and running properly. "The new service provides a specialist helpdesk, made up of highly …

    Small Biz 3 Jun 2005, 14:43

  • Intel shifts Manitoba

    Finally secures mobile phone customer

    Intel claims to have finally found a customer for its Manitoba mobile phone platform in the shape of British-based operator O2. The chip giant launched Manitoba in 2003, but to date has failed to secure any customers. However, Reuters reports that Intel execs at an event in San Francisco this week said O2 would use the platform …

    Mobile 3 Jun 2005, 15:22

  • Message storm knocks NYSE offline

    Early close for trading floor

    The New York Stock Exchange is re-examining its network after it was forced to close four minutes early at 3:56pm on Wednesday (1 June) because of a communications glitch. Trading opened on time (09:30 EDT) the following morning but the outage irked traders and raised questions about the reliability of a network described as " …

    Financial News 3 Jun 2005, 15:43

  • Sun critics hear the sound of two garbage trucks colliding

    Analysis Is StorageTek buy a waste?

    For years, Scott McNealy's comical, sarcastic, controversial mouth has produced a flood of press for Sun Microsystems - often more press than the company's size deserved. But one particular item from McNealy's acerbic repertoire could haunt Sun as it waits for the freshly announced StorageTek acquisition to close. "It's like …

    Servers 3 Jun 2005, 16:02

  • BT inks new Wi-Fi roaming deals

    Have lappy, will travel

    BT has signed international roaming deals with wireless operators in Japan, France and Switzerland taking the number of Wi-Fi hotspots its punters can use to more than 30,000 around the world. Adding to existing agreements with T-Mobile, The Cloud and Broadreach Networks in the UK, BT has now struck a partnerships with NTT …

    Wireless 3 Jun 2005, 16:07

  • Netscape fans giggle at broken IE

    Letters And we fillet a frog

    Gartner pronounced this week that IT departments are likely to get smaller and less techie, a trend that will be driven by an increase in outsourcing. You wondered what the analysts had been smoking: I agree that IT Departments will feel the pressure, especially in businesses that have no understanding of the value of IT. …

    Letters 3 Jun 2005, 16:20

  • Sony tries to choke off UK PSP imports

    Thin grey line

    Sony has taken legal action against resellers flogging PlayStation Portable (PSP) devices ahead of the official 1 September European launch. The consumer electronics giant has sent "cease and desist" letters to grey market traders that are selling PSPs to UK punters after importing them from either Japan or the US, where the …

    Consoles 3 Jun 2005, 16:38